Please note that this syllabus should be regarded as only a general guide to the course. The instructor may have changed
specific course content and requirements subsequent to posting this syllabus. Last Modified: 15:07:23 05/12/2016
BOSTON COLLEGE
Department of Physics
INTRODUCTORY LABORATORY I - PHYS2050
Summer 2016
Laboratory Director
Dr. Andrzej Herczyński
Office: 230 D Higgins Hall
Email: andrzej@bc.edu
Laboratory Manager
Dr. Yun Peng
Office: 245 Higgins Hall
Office Phone: (617) 552-2678
Instructors
Mr. Albert Shi and Mr. Alex Shvonski
Office: 245 Higgins Hall
Lab Meeting Time: M Tu Th 4:00 – 5:50pm
Required materials
Introductory Physics Laboratory Manual 3e, by A. Herczyński, Wiley 2011.
Laboratory notebook.
Content and relation to lectures
The sequence of the laboratory experiments that will be performed is given on a separate
sheet. Experiments chosen correspond to several major topics covered by introductory
physics courses and are arranged (as far as possible) so that they follow after the lectures on a
given topic. There are nine experiments to be performed, and they are of two kinds, those in
which data is compiled manually (M1, M3, M7), and those in which data collection is fully
or partially automated using a computer (M2, M5, M6, M8, V1, and V2).
Error analysis
Every measurement is uncertain and estimating that uncertainty is a crucial and necessary
task. There is little meaning to experimental results unless one can ascertain the level of
confidence in them. Error analysis is the science (and art!) of evaluating experimental
uncertainties. Three brief guides to error analysis are included in your manual. They follow
An Introduction to Error Analysis by John R. Taylor (University Science Book, 2nd ed.,
1998, chapters 1-3 and parts of 4). Your instructor will indicate the level of error analysis
expected in each lab report.
Requirements and Grading
Laboratory procedures and rules of conduct are summarized in the manual. The principal
requirement is that you attend all lab sessions and that you hand in all lab reports on time.
Lab reports will be collected at the start of the very next meeting following the experiment
performed. Given the fast pace of the summer session, makeup arrangements will be made
only when the absence was absolutely unavoidable. Except for extreme circumstances, such
as medical emergency, late or missing lab reports will receive no credit.
Each lab will be graded on the scale 0-10 points, for the maximum of 90 points in the course.
Your instructor will indicate the necessary elements of the lab reports and the grading
scheme. The final letter grades will be assigned based on the numerical scores.
Note
All students are expected to follow Boston College’s code of conduct. In particular, copying
from any source (w/o proper citation) will be considered a serious breach of academic
integrity (see: http://www.bc.edu/schools/cas/polisci/integrity.html).
BOSTON COLLEGE
Department of Physics
INTRODUCTORY PHYSICS LABORATORY I - PHYS2050
Summer 2016
Laboratory Calendar – Group A
Meeting
Date
Day
Experiment
1
June 6
Monday
Introduction – Lab Software
253
2
June 7
Tuesday
M1 – Coefficient of Restitution
255
3
June 9
Thursday
M2 – Instantaneous Speed
253
4
June 13
Monday
M3 – Balance of Forces
255
5
June 14
Tuesday
M5 – Newton’s Second Law
253
6
June 16
Thursday
M6 – Collisions in One-D
255
7
June 20
Monday
M7 – Circular Motion
253
8
June 21
Tuesday
M8 – Moment of Inertia
255
9
June 23
Thursday
V1 – Harmonic Oscillations
253
10
June 27
Monday
V2 – Simple Pendulum
255
June 28
Tuesday
June 30
Thursday
Makeups (permission required,
by arrangement)
Room
253/255
BOSTON COLLEGE
Department of Physics
INTRODUCTORY PHYSICS LABORATORY I – PHYS2050
Summer 2016
Laboratory Calendar – Group B
Meeting
Date
Day
1
June 6
Monday
June 7
Tuesday
2
June 9
3
Experiment
Room
Introduction – Lab Software
253
Thursday
M1 – Coefficient of Restitution
255
June 13
Monday
M2 – Instantaneous Speed
253
4
June 14
Tuesday
M3 – Balance of Forces
255
5
June 16
Thursday
M5 – Newton’s Second Law
253
6
June 20
Monday
M6 – Collisions in One-D
255
7
June 21
Tuesday
M7 – Circular Motion
253
8
June 23
Thursday
M8 – Moment of Inertia
255
9
June 27
Monday
V1 – Harmonic Oscillations
253
10
June 28
Tuesday
V2 – Simple Pendulum
255
June 30
Thursday
Makeups (permission required,
by arrangement)
253/255